The Ghosts of Idlewood

Idlewood #1

by M.L. Bullock

When a team of historians takes on the task of restoring the Idlewood plantation to its former glory, they discover there's more to the moldering old home than meets the eye. The long-dead Ferguson children don't seem to know they're dead. A mysterious clock, a devilish fog and the Shadow Man add to the supernatural tension that begins to build in the house. Lead historian Carrie Jo Stuart and her assistant Rachel must use their special abilities to get to the bottom of the many mysteries that the house holds.

Detra Ann and Henri get a reality check, of the supernatural kind, and Deidre Jardine finally comes face to face with the past.

If you loved the Seven Sisters series, you'll enjoy the spinoff series, Idlewood.

Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy, Ghosts, Historical Fiction, Fiction

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2016

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE GHOSTS OF IDLEWOOD is Book 1 in the "Idlewood Series". What I wasn't aware of, however, was that this is a spin-off of another series by author M.L. Bullock. Technically, this book should have stood on it's own, but unfortunately, I felt like I missed a lot of information by not reading the previous series in its entirety BEFORE reading this one. There were things alluded to (I'm guessing from the previous set), and relationships that were never accurately described because I'm assuming "most" readers were expected to have read about them in the other books. Even the abilities of the characters were more "implied", as if we should automatically get what they were about.

This was most definitely what I would categorize as a YA novel. Now I have enjoyed many of those over the years as well, but this one just fell flat for me. The book seemed very scattered as far as scenes and time periods went, and often I'd have to read a full page or two until I figured out with year/characters I was with. When you include the fact that pertinent information seemed to be missing, and there were several "loose ends" *(undoubtedly for the next book in the series)*, this book just wasn't for me. Perhaps if I had read the previous series in its entirety, I would have had a different opinion.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Ghost of Idlewood, is the first book in the Idlewood series. With numerous references to the Seven Sisters Series, I feel like I should have read that series first. It would have given me a better understanding of some of the characters. This is not a stand alone novel. One thing that I did not like is, that the author kept jumping around, from present to past. Because this is a series, the ending came to an abrupt halt. I would classify this book, as a YA novel. I have read some YA novels, that I have enjoyed.. This novel received many great reviews but it just wasn't for me.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that stopped this from getting 5 stars was that it was very distracting since this is written in the first-person, and each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character. The reader often looses the train of thought and I found that I did a lot of back reading to remember who was speaking now. Other that that it was a first rate story with really good characters. I’m not sure but I got the idea that there may be a second book to continue this story. If not this one stands well by itself.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh, it was okay. Little all over the place.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

For people who like ghost stories but don't like horror stories, I think this is a nice, easy in-between. There's enough "spooky" and "mystery" to keep it interesting, but it doesn't go over the edge into an area where I know a lot of people would be uncomfortable. I think of it more in the "traditional" haunted house genre, where what is most important is what you imagine, not what you "see." Because it is a new branch of a previously existing story set, I occasionally felt a little behind the curve, as the book referenced events and characters that I knew nothing about. One mystery in particular came from a preceding book, acted like it was going somewhere major in this one, and then ended in the epilogue like it had never been more than a blip on the radar. It was very odd.

There were enough open questions left to easily set up for the rest of the books in the series, although this part was wrapped up fairly well. It was a quick, easy (if a little odd) read, and I'd read more by the same author.

[Ayshla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but I felt like I started reading in the middle of a series. The book also introduced so many questions and plot lines that when this book finished I was disappointed and felt like I received a slither of the story. I think to actually like the characters I would of had to have read The Seven Sisters and to appreciate the story I think you would have to read the whole series in one sitting. I also wasn’t a fan of the constant character view swap. I felt as soon as I started to like where one character was headed it stopped and another characters view point started. Again this may not have bothered me so much if I had read the previous books and already liked each character.

[sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ghost story.

This book was awesome it gave me chills through out the book.it's got everything a cold mansion,a few ghosts,a mystery,I loved every minute of it and can't Waite for the next book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ghost story. A group of friends each with a different paranormal talent.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy house, weird inventor.. Quite a unique story.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special Halloween Read

I loved it. A beautiful haunting tale. Characters so real they leap off the page. Perfect spooky read for my Halloween holiday.

[David Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story!

I must admit upon first reading, to being very confused by the writing style. The chapters jump from past to present (as in Alan Titchmarsh's 'The Haunting' ), but also are from the perspective of that individual in the chapter heading.
Once this was established however, I re-read this and quickly got sucked into this tale of haunting and tragedy from the occupants of Idlewood.
There is a previous series called 'Seven Sisters' that is alluded to throughout this book which may put off readers who, like me, haven't read the other books. Having said that, I found that certain gaps are filled in along the way, and you can read this without having to go back and read those first without too much trouble....It's like getting to know a friend of a friend by chatting to someone else, mildly confusing but not completely off putting.
Although not a scare fest or gory, this story unfolds into a fairly creepy and at times very heartwarming tale. The characters are bold and stand out nicely and you quickly feel for the previous occupants.
All in all I am really impressed and look forward to reading more by this author, a more subtle and subdued style - rather than shocks and jumps at every turn.

[Susan Tuttle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story, though it didn't draw me in as much as it could have. It also left some things hanging, and I don't know if they'll be addressed in future books or not. My main criticism is that all the characters related their portions of the story in first person, and their voices all sounded pretty much the same. If I missed the name at the chapter heading, which I often did when engrossed in what was going on, I got confused as to who was telling the story and had to search back to the chapter heading to see who it was. This pulled me out of the story. Would have worked better, I think, to have one character in first person and the rest in third person. But still a book worth reading.

[Barbara Langlois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every second of this book. Totally engrossed in the characters. It felt just like you were there.

[Brenda Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I love these books.m.l..bullock. Is a great writer.her books draw you in.you don't want to stop reading.Will keep and read again and again.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read

Easy read but skipped around quit a bit and didn't quite pull the story together very well. I expected a little more "finish" and "fluidity".

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghosts of Idlewood

Continuity/inconsistencies:
Henri and Detra Ann eloped at the end of The Sun Rises Over Seven Sisters, and now in this they're not yet married. Then when CJ dreams with her mother she has a reaction about her Mom being a dream catcher also. We found out that not only is her mother but so was her grandmother.
Seven Sisters was renamed Beaumont-Cottonwood Manor, but is referred to as Seven Sisters throughout the entire book.

Otherwise I found the story good, not real certain what the whole point of CJ's Mother being injured, or why Rachel's grandmother remodeled the garage. Hopefully these questions and many more will be answered in the future.

[Jeanne Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically an interesting story

Plotline was promising but all female characters were so similar, it was difficult to keep track of who was who. Punctuation was ignored in many cases. Even worse, plotline execution was so abysmal in places with contradictions of events that had occurred only paragraphs previously that this reader decided not to read anything else from this author. Material needs a good editor-proofreader. If you can overlook the author's failure to read over and check what she writes, the story was interesting and even absorbing at times. It definitely shows promise but, imho, needs some TLC at the hands of a knowledgeable editor.

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it 64% through. I liked the seven sisters books but this one didn't do it for me. The writing was a little too simplistic and I didn't like the jumping around and seemingly unrelated story likes (like Henri and Aleezabeth). Maybe if I stuck it out I would find the connection but I did not have the desire to finish.

[Jacqueline Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't think much of this I'm afraid. The plot, the characters did not seem well developed. It was obviously a book in a series, maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read what came first. Really, it came across as an outline for a story, rather than the finished product.

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in the "Idlewood" series about a team of historians with special abilities, and the haunted mansion they've been hired to restore. Apparently, this is a spin-off of the author's "Seven Sisters" series, which I have not read. While I don't think I was missing out, I still felt some things lacked context.

Historian and new mother Carrie Jo Stuart has been hired to restore Idlewood plantation to its former glory. Almost immediately, she and her assistant, Rachel, begin having odd occurrences in the home. Carrie has issues in her personal life, as well. She fears her husband's assistant, Libby, is monopolizing his time and looking to replace her in Ashland's affections. In the meantime, Rachel keeps feeling a pull to Idlewood, and she wants to solve the mystery of what became of the younger Ferguson children, who disappeared 150 years ago.

The story was told in first person pov, but the pov switched between several characters, and it vacillated between the past and the present. I am a firm believer that if you're going to write in first person pov, you should commit to one character. In this story, however, the switching perspectives and times added to the plot, rather than detracting from it. Characters were good, and the plot was creepy without being frightening.

However, I had a hard time with how young the Ferguson children were. Percy was married at 15?! And, the parents were trying to marry off his twin sister at that same age? I did a quick Google search for average age of marriage in 1870, and it was about 23 for women and 26 for men. Also, I never got a grasp on which of the two boys was older, married Percy or single Michael. WTF'ing over these points sort of threw me out of the story each time I was reading passages set in the past.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Four stars.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ghosts of Idlewood is a face-paced paranormal thriller. For much of the book I drawn into the ghost story uncovered by historical preservationists beginning restoration on a new project site. However, I was greatly disappointed by the abrupt ending, which left many threads hanging. I know this is a series, and I imagine those threads will be picked up in later threads. Yet the conclusion felt rushed and hasty, with too much left unexplained to make the book a successful stand alone within a series. The ending was not a suspenseful cliffhanger leading into the next book, it merely wound up one story thread quickly and then left the others unaddressed. There were also many allusions to Bullock's related series, The Seven Sisters. Again, for much of the book, this merely hints at a backstory for the characters, lending depth to their narrative existence beyond the book. But I also felt like I was missing prior information to follow some of the threads that were left uncompleted by this book. So, while I greatly enjoyed reading this book, I had to deduct a star for the dissatisfying ending.

[K.D. Brinegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me at the cover. It was a fast read and one that I seriously COULD NOT PUT DOWN. I immediately connected with Rachael, CJ and don't get me started on the house at Idlewood. Percy was a bold character and I felt like there was so much more under the twin theory and Aubrey with her snob antics and stirring the pot around Percy's family. Trinket immediately stood out and I would not put it past one of the other siblings to have more to do with the happenings at Idlewood. Needless to say...as soon as I finished this book I immediately went out to purchase Seven Sisters, Sugar Hill and the rest of Idlewood in it's entirety. That says a lot because I don't usually continue on with a series...let alone the rest of the authors collection unless it's just that good. M.L. Bullock write eloquently and her dialog is flowing and makes you want to keep reading and keep reading. I am so excited to continue to book 2 of Idlewood and I am beyond excited to start Seven Sisters. Bring in a mystery, ghosts and old historic homes and I am sold!

[Reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this story and all the characters, it felt a little rushed and unfinished, skipping over things and dropping other plot points. I'm sure they may be picked up in future stories, but it leaves a lot with an unpolished feeling here. I was also shocked to see that this was apparently book number one of the series. It reads like it's several books in, like the reader should know and recognize all the characters and plots already - this being book one makes everything even more disjointed. The characters are solid and enjoyable though, and I liked the basic plot and side stories, enough to at least pick up the second book to see if any of the many loose threads are picked up and resolved.

[Steven Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I’m not reading horror, I like immersing myself in a good ghost story. The thing about this sub-genre is, you can pretty much do what you want anywhere you want. I love learning about different parts of the country. The Ghosts of Idlewood paints a realistic picture of the modern South. And in reaching back to centuries past, it provides the reader with a rich tapestry of what life might have been like on a plantation.

If, like me, you haven’t been steeped in the author’s Seven Sisters series, don’t worry. This story works well as a standalone, and I had no trouble picking up on the backstories of the main characters as they face paranormal danger in trying to solve the mystery that lies within the walls of a once-grand estate called Idlewood.

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a town filled with the past you have people who see ghosts. There are some that need help and reach out to those who are aware of them. This is the story of a restoration of such a house filled with sorrow that begs for the release of its ghosts and the people who release them. It blends past and present. I would have given it a higher rating but there were times when it was hard to know who was who and was a bit confusing. When you need to keep a paper trail to know when and when and who is talking it can be rough! A good read over all! :)

[Natasha Banton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a very chilling read.

To start with, the thing that made me want to read the book was the image on the cover, then I read the description and that's what made me want to read the book.

Everything in the book was well described as we followed the characters throughout the story.

I found this book to be a chilly, yet spine tingling read. It will leave you chilled to the bone.

This book may be the first book of the Idlewood series, but this could be read as a standalone book, even though it is a fantastic, quick readable book.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to get used to the narrative being in so many characters voices, but as a rule the characters were likeable and the writing pretty good. However this seems to be tied to another series and a lot of back story is not related in this book. Also the story (and title) refer to multiple ghosts and one ghost only is helped, the others aren’t really identified and not really addressed. Because of this the ending seems very truncated and the story isn’t really resolved, presumably this is a device to lead to the next book but I found it off putting.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining ghost story featuring a child ghost, and an old Southern Mansion. There's plenty of action in the story, and the author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing what is actually going on, who is responsible for turning children into ghosts, and what the real source of evil is. The storyline covers several books, of course, so not a great deal of integral plot is revealed in this, the first book, but it's still a good read.

[Toni Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fast read. I was caught off guard by an out of the blue sentence about a character that was a sensitive, as if the reader already knew. I had to go back and skim the book, thinking that I missed reading the character was sensitive. There was no mention earlier. There needs to be some kind of lead up for some characters. (Aka, Carrie Joe's husband) Otherwise, I loved the story and want to read more.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Take for the Halloween Season

Such a sad, emotional, and spooky take about list would who were stuck between Heaven and the He'll that they were going through! What made it hardest was the fact that these were children who lost their lived at such early ages. Thankfully, Idlewood was lucky to have interior decorators, who were sensitive to things of another world! This book was a great read, and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!